400 Pound Monkey | Left Hand Brewing Company

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Reviews by puboflyons:

The pour is a cloudy, milky pale yellow-copper with a lingering, foamy head. Floating sediment too!

The nose is mildly hopped and overall subtle with a light pale malt touch. But the hops are eloquently played down considering it is an IPA.

The body is medium.

The taste begins sweet and bready and the hops are more in in the background - subtle and balancing. I always liked the English IPA over the American IPA because it's not in my face bitter and Left hand captures those subtleties well. Easy for me to drink and enjoy.

On draft, pours a very clear copper orange color. A very tho layer of head sits on the glass, lacing as the beer disappears.

The nose is spice, earthy hops, chives, not much malt. The flavor is earthy hops, with a malt backbone. A little cotton candy, spice, potato. This is old school ipa, but not a great interpretation. Unfortunately, my preferences have changed and this doesn't stand out like I am sure it did 10 years ago.

My brother had been begging me to try this beer for a long time and it was hard to find, but I finally got some and am looking forward to reviewing it. It is an English-Style IPA with 6.8% ABV and 65 IBUs.

Look-Pours a clear honey-yellow golden color with an egg-white foamy head that is at least 2 fingers thick and lingers most of the way down. The lacing is thick and delicate.

Smell-It smells of fruits and honey malts. The English aspects are really noticeable, specifically the strong yeast aroma.

Taste-It tastes like honey, mango, and maybe some citrus, but it has a lot of fruity yeast and clover. It is well-balanced by toasted cracker or bready malts. The alcohol content is perfect for the carbonation level.

Mouthfeel-It has a smooth mouthfeel with a nice fizziness from the carbonation and it finishes in a mild bite from the alcohol. It is medium-bodied and crisp.

Overall-I haven’t tried many English-Style IPAs, but I’ve had a few and I must say that it is a really pleasant type of beer and this one by Left Hand Brewing is particularly delicate, complex, and easy to drink.

I think alot were expecting more of a hop forward IPA here,and came away dissapointed,I thought it was decent and fit the EIPA category pretty well.Poured a clear rich golden with a nice tight one finger white head that left broken lace as it settled slowly,good clarity and definition.Aromas were the biggest dissapointment for me for this beer,light caramel/biscuit,and geranium-like hop came thru but it was light.Toasty and lightly sweet caramel malt flavors up front with leafy,tea-like hop flavors coming into a good finish.The British malt profile is the main component of the beer for me,the hops just lend a hand.It was very fresh,(bottled on 2/3/10/)wich was nice,a good beer for the "style".

The more I drank I noticed a real buttery flavor from the yeast strain used,not to bad though.

The aroma isn't very good. The somewhat doughy malts and grassy hops are the ok part. Then, I get something that smells almost vegetal, moldy, and of buttered popcorn. Really not very appetizing.

A grainy taste comes through and finishes with an astringent bitterness that I can live with. I can't get past the burnt popcorn aspect of the taste. It just seems like something's wrong to me. Or maybe it's just bad beer. I had little inspiration to finish the glass. Disappointing.

A- Pours a crystal clear golden orange fluid that produces a lazy lightly carbonated head that falls to a small froth leaving decent lacing.

S- Fresh lemon and grassy hops upfront with sweet malts in the backbone of the nose.

T-M- For a EIPA this is pretty damn good. Not overly powerful on the bitterness but has a tangy hop presence. Flavor upfront is fresh cut grass with undertones of sweet carmel malts followed by a twang that is the alcohol esters dancing on the tongue. Mouthfeel is smooth and slick with mild carbonation on the finish.

D- Drinkable due to the smoothness and malted wheat that is used to make it... Cheers!

The head has no problem showing off three fingers of height and a spectacle of sticky lace on the glass, with a good pale-ish amber color and clarity. Herbal, minty and peppery hop strikes at the nostrils with a sharpness that is only dulled a little by a bready malt and faint mango fruitiness. Bready (almost shortbread) malt flavor has a lot of depth and seems to lean toward biscuity in the finish. Hint of alcohol in the middle, throws some warmth on the palate. Hops have a fresh sting of bitterness for the taste buds to deal with, balancing and cleansing as it takes on the malt. Herbal thickness grows toward the semi-dry finish with that bisucity malt remnant.

A straight-up, no-strings-attached, full-on modern English IPA, we dig it ... a bit too much alcohol to be considered sessionable, perhaps, but it wants to be.

Pours from the bottle a lovely clear copper with a fast fading head that leaves spotty lacing.
Aroma is nice. Herbal and spicy, some caramel and biscuit, a bit of fruit and just a hint of veg.
Taste is nicely bitter with herbal and spice notes. A little floral with fruity undertones. Some biscuit and toffee sweetness as well.
Mouthfeel is medium and smooth.
Quite tasty.

Bottle pours a hazed golden body with a small offwhite head that leaves some attractive sticky lace. Aroma is mostly citrusy hops that though a bit muted have a nice grapefruit, apricot and lemon presence. A hint of toasted caramel underneath. Medium body and carbonation. Taste has some apricot sweetness that is joined by bitter grassy hops and a biscuity malt character. A bit of caramel pushes the taste to the sweet side of the spectrum. Alcohol is hidden well. Finish is clean and even. Just enough hop bitterness to avoid cloying. I enjoyed this one quite a bit but the name doesn't really fit.

Drinkability: I like the body of this beer, but what kills it for me is a medicinal/bitter alcohol aftertaste that lingers in my mouth. This is very dry and the hops are not overboard. I do like the brewery but I am not likely to get this one again.

Appearance: Poured a crystal clear straw color, very small white head quickly fell to a thin cap, but retained at that level fairly well. Decent amount of lacing left. Very little carbonation to be seen coming up through the beer.

Smell: Pineapple jumps out at me as a major smell, other less noticeable smells are grainy bread-like smells. Not a ton going on here.

Taste: Very earthy, slightly bitter hoppiness with a kind of caramel finish. Hard to grasp all of the flavors but overall pleasant.

Mouthfeel: Dry with a deceptive amount of carbonation when compared to its appearance. Fairly light and thin.

Drinkability: Exceptional drinkability. Could easily put a few of these back without blinking an eye. Refreshing and light.

Overall, would go for it again at a bar or a picnic, but wouldn't go out of my way to find it in a store.